The Gujarat High Court has criticized journalist Ravi Nair for not informing it about his separate bail plea in a defamation case filed by Adani Enterprises Limited. The court also observed that Nair could not challenge the non-bailable warrant after it had already been executed.
The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday refused to grant interim relief to journalist Ravi Nair, who was seeking release from judicial custody in a criminal defamation case filed by Adani Enterprises Limited over a series of posts on social media platform X. The court also criticised Nair for not informing it that he had separately approached the sessions court for regular bail.
The High Court observed that Nair could not challenge the non-bailable warrant after it had already been executed. Bar and Bench reported that during the hearing, Nair’s lawyer argued that the journalist had appeared at three of the eight hearings in his appeal and had been granted an exemption from appearing on another date. The lawyer also objected to describing Nair as ‘absconding’.
The case pertains to a series of social media posts published by Nair between October 2020 and July 2021 about the Adani Group relating to allegations by United States-based short seller Hindenburg Research and a strike against the proposed privatisation of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. On February 10, a magistrate court in Gandhinagar convicted Nair and sentenced him to one year in prison.
Nair challenged his conviction before an appellate court in Gandhinagar, which granted him bail on March 9 and directed him to remain present during the hearing of his appeal. He was not present at a hearing on September 3, his lawyer had said. The court subsequently issued a non-bailable warrant against him.
The lawyer for Adani Enterprises argued that Nair’s conduct before the appellate court was relevant. He also submitted that the journalist had appeared before the Gandhinagar court in March only for the execution of his bail bonds.
Source:
Scroll.in
